The Crane Game
by EmilyTheRose
Summary: Now, I'm just a simple plushie, living in a simple glass box, but even I could see it. So, why can't they? OneShot. SereDar. Very quick read. Reviews are amazing.


Just a short little blurb I wrote really quick. I haven't written any fanfiction or purely recreational stories in a very long while. Reviews are nice because I need guidance to get back on track. Tell me what you think.

Oh, and Sailor Moon doesn't belong to me. Hence this being fanfiction and not published somewhere.

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"The Crane Game"

The glass walls confining me were smudged and slightly cracked. My guess was that there had been one too many faces smushed to it or too many angry customers. Crane games seemed to have that effect on people. The glistening hook shone above me, still looking pristine. I let out a small sigh and it put a tiny spot of fog on the glass, barely noticeable to the human eye. How long had I been waiting? It seemed like an eternity but the reality was probably only a few days. The only way to keep track was to remember how many times the lights had been turned off and on in the arcade.

The tall blonde boy came by with a rag and tried his best to clean off the permanent smudges. His sparkling green eyes never failed to enchant the girls that wandered in here. If only he would use his inexplicable influence to make one of them play the stupid crane.

_Ding._

Ah, the door chime. It was a hope inspiring sound. A girl with pigtails and strange ball shaped buns perched on her head skipped through the door. The boy took a moment to say hi and I wondered if he noticed how she blushed at the slightest recognition. I tried not to roll my eyes. Here was yet another girl who came for the view. Great.

"Hi Andrew," she said shyly. Her foot traced the tile and she bit her lip. I knew enough about humans to know she was smitten. Head over heels. Humans were so strange.

"Do you want the usual Serena?" he asked, stepping behind the counter. A wide smile took over her face and she nodded. "Where's the rest of your entourage?"

"Oh, I think they're coming," she said absentmindedly. Her eyes focused on the counter as she took a stool by the counter. Only I seemed to notice the small sigh that escaped her lips. I raised a sown on eyebrow. It seemed like more than chocolate, boys, and Andrew's eyes were on her mind. I wiggled closer to my glass prison's walls to hear better. I hated how muffled everything sounded. This was probably going to be the only interesting thing to happen all day and I could barely hear.

"Here you go," Andrew said as he set a chocolate milkshake in front of her. She threw him a dazzling smile and all traces of worry left her features. How strange. She'd seemed so worried a minute before.

_Ding._

Another customer. This one was a well built young man with ebony hair. His eyes were gorgeous too but they were more startling than dreamy. They were a midnight blue that even I could appreciate. I half wondered if my stitched in eyes looked anything like his.

"Hey Andrew," he said casually as he sat down a stool away from the girl. "A coffee, please."

For some reason that girl threw him a withering glare, or at least tried to. She seemed too sweet to look threatening at all. The look didn't really fit with her face.

As if sensing the hostility rolling off her, the ebony haired boy turned. "Yes, Meatball Head?" His raised eyebrow mimicked my own.

Her nose wrinkled in distaste and the distorted angel decided to ignore him. Shifting her body, she turned her back to him and slurped her milkshake in a very unbecoming fashion.

"Darien, what did you do now?" the other boy asked, cleaning a glass with his apron. His bored tone gave me the feeling this was pretty normal.

"What? I didn't even say anything to her," he almost yelled, completely exasperated.

"Ha!" the girl yelled, turning back around and jabbing a finger at him. "You're a jerk and you should know what you did!"

"I haven't seen you since yesterday!"

"Oh, counting the hours until you see me again?" Obviously she thought that was extremely witty. It wasn't.

"No, counting the hours I'm blissfully away from you. If can make it into a college, it'll be a relief." He rubbed his temples but I could have sworn I saw a smile. It was quickly replaced with a deep frown.

She yelled "ha" again and stalked away from the booth. Trying to find a way to release her anger, she stomped over to my game. Looking at all the plushies seemed to calm her down and a smile spread over her face, ending the mini tantrum.

Her eyes locked on me and she squealed. Her pigtails flew behind her as she dived for her bag and pulled out a little pink wallet with a bunny on it. Quickly, she shoved money in the slot and giggled as the crane game came to life. She bit her lip again in concentration and carefully tried to maneuver the crane. It landed about a half foot away from me and grabbed at air.

I groaned but my glimmer of hope returned as she pulled out more money to feed to machine. I tried to stretch myself out to make a bigger target but to no avail. The girl couldn't hit an elephant if it was a foot in front of her.

The poor, blind, uncoordinated girl let out a cry and shoved in more money. The process continued, her battle cry ringing out with every new attempt, but I stayed put.

"Meatball Head, you're going to break the crane or my eardrums," the one named Darien said, taking a calm sip of coffee. Andrew gave a small nod in agreement.

"But I want that doll!" she whined, ignoring his insult to her hair. I blanched at her calling me a doll. I was a very masculine action plushie, thank you very little. Darien sighed and got up. He crossed over to Serena and pulled out his own wallet.

"Which one?" he asked. She pointed to me, the surprise clear on her face.

He stood directly behind her and put in the money. He put his hand on top of hers on the joystick. I didn't miss the small tingle that sent up her spine or the blush that crept on her cheeks. The rise and fall of her chest had stopped and the glass wasn't fogged any longer.

Darien pushed the start button and guided her hand with a swift motion so that the crane was right over top of me. If I had been able to or had lungs, I'm sure I would have held my breath too. Slowly but surely it came down to pick me up.

I felt the cold metal wrap around me, dragging me over to the portal out of my purgatory. The drop was more freeing than I could have dreamed. I dropped into the slot and a warm, different type of soft claw wrapped around me.

"He's so cute!" the girl exclaimed, throwing her arms impulsively around Darien's neck. He gave a small gasp and I know I saw him smile that time.

"Who said I'm giving him to you?" he asked, dangling me in front of her face, which instantly fell. Her eyes welled up with tears and I could feel Darien's guilt as he loosened his grip on me.

"Really?"

He tried to hide his guilt with a chuckle and said, "Naw, I don't play with dolls." He expertly tossed me in the air and I thought it was a miracle the girl caught me before I hit the dirt.

_Ding._

The door chimed as he left and the blonde held me close.

"I bet you would be way nicer than mean old Darien, right Tuxedo Mask?" she asked me, straitening my felt hat as we left to arcade. Honestly, I thought to myself, probably not. My red mouth stitching pulled up into a smile as the door gave a final ding and we left the arcade.

The End

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Tell me what you thought, okay? Or else I may sick my ferocious crane games on you. They bite.

Oh, and as a side note, this thing looked way bigger in Word. It was like two and half pages. On here it looks so puny. I guess that's what I get for pumping it out in half an hour.


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